Marketing: Winners of the second division

All-Ireland rugby, national football and hurling work well for sponsors at a local level, finds Ciaran Hancock

WHEN it comes to sports coverage, such big-ticket events as the All-Ireland hurling and football championships and the Heineken Cup in rugby dominate our media coverage. In soccer, it’s the English Premiership and the UEFA Champions League that have captured the public’s imagination.

All have used slick advertising, improved stadiums and blanket media coverage to push their brands and make them the “must-see” entertainment events. The result is that secondary competitions such as the national football and hurling leagues in GAA, the All- Ireland league in rugby and soccer’s National League have been squeezed out of the picture.

It’s a point recognised by Padraig Power, commercial and marketing director of the Irish Rugby Football Union. “We are all consumed by the ‘big event’,” he said. “But a lot of research has shown that, while this is true, the fact is that for brands to work they have to have a